The Mantle of the Moon
by Green Capricorn
Summary: Lidya is forced to leave for Castle Karstaag to get the priceless Mantle of The Moon from a dark and fascinating ex legionnaire. The Castle hides secrets that it's better to leave there...of course it won't be easy. Every possible theme is dealed.
1. Letters

_**This story happens years after Hircine's defeat. I hope you will like it. The plot deals with all possible themes of a story: adventure, supernatural, mistery, humour, love, friendship, magic, suspence, horror, fights...well you understood.**_

**_Chapter One  
"Letters"_**

_Lake Fjalding, morning_

_Lidya,  
__I hope you're well. Here at Thrisk the snow falls again. Yesterday a blizzard forced me to stay in the building. I won't return to the colony until two days. Have you noticed? Those big dark clouds above Castle Karstaag? A witch that I met in my journey said that this is an ominous sign for Solstheim.  
__Late evening,  
__This place is really scaring at night, the cold moon glows in this icy zone and strange noises and cries are heard all around. I hope I'll come back to Raven Rock soon._

_Lucilla_

Lidya read the letter twice and put it on a wooden table. "Where are you now?" she asked to herself.

Lucilla, her best friend, never returned from Thrisk. Two weeks passed from the day she received that letter. She exited her little house.

The sun was shining over the white snow. Raven Rock became a big colony. More wooden and iron houses were built, the mine had been expanded and new people came to live there. Lidya looked at some icicles dripping from the rusty roof. She closed the door behind her and walked quickly towards the Factor's estate.

"Why are you running?" asked a voice.

Marsus, one of the colony guards, was laughing near her.

"What? Oh Marsus, you scared me!"

"Come on, Lidya, there are no wolves or Spriggans here. We guards protect you."

"I know, but I still have to fit in this snowy place. And since Lucilla disappeared…"

"Dear, you are one of the best swordmen…swordwomen of Solstheim. But if you want I can sleep with you…"

"Why do you always ask this? Guards are so obsessed!"

Guards were right to be obsessed with Lidya: she was simply beautiful. Her father was an Imperial and her mother a Nord. She inherited all the good sides of the two races. She was quite tall and had long brown hair while her eyes were deep blue. Marsus tried to seduce her for months but she always escaped his advances. She left him and walked, slowly this time, to the Factor's estate in the centre of Raven Rock. The _Factor's estate _was a large house of two floors, made of pine wood with a metal roof. She knocked on the door and she was greeted by her boss' servant.

"Miss Lidya, how are you?"

"Well…I'm well."

"Are you here because you wanted to visit us kindly or it was my master who called you?"

"The second one."

"Good luck!"

"Thank you…"

The servant stepped aside and let Lidya enter in.

The factor was waiting in his office. His name was Antonius Tertius, easily called "the boss".

He was 44 but he looked like older, he was wearing expensive and colourful clothes.

Lidya found him sat in front of a desk where all sort of papers were scattered.

"Good morning, Lidya."

"Good morning, boss. Why did you call me?"

The boos stood up and looked her smiling.

"Do you like walking in the wilderness?"

"Me? I went sometimes in the forest, but this place is not what I call hospitable."

"Do you like snow?"

"I would prefer soft sand but…" she was answering.

"Perfect!"

"Perfect?"

"Do you know where is Castle Karstaag?"

"More or less…why are you asking me that?"

The boss' smile became weaker, he began to walks slowly in the room.

"I'm going to tell you a story, a story that talks about me (and this makes it interesting). When I was younger I used to work at Fort Frostmoth as a simple accountant. Everyday I watched the troopers train under the orders of a young but strong commander named Varus Vantinius. He was cold behaviour but fascinated and ill attracted by dark magic. One day a group of legionnaires returned from a mission to the north, bringing back a magic artifact called the Mantle Of The Moon. A silver cloak found who knew where…the legionnaires talked about the Mantle unknown powers and Varus got obsessed with it. Another day no one could find neither Varus nor the Mantle."

"Did he steal it?" asked Lidya.

"Yes."

"A truly interesting story, but, why should it concern me?"

"Because I want you to recover that Mantle."

"What?"

"Varus closed himself in the abandoned Caslte Karstaag and now, years later, he rules that region with many servants."

"But…how old is he?"

"People say that he never change his aspect: he remained young! And I don't know how!"

"Are you envious?"

"Me? No! Now that I am the Factor of Raven Rock I…I want that Mantle, nothing else."

"You want me to walk through that killer mountains?" asked Lidya astonished.

"After all is what Lucilla did…"

"Lucilla? Lucilla never told me about a Mantle or a guy who…"

"That's what I said to her."

"But she said that she went to Thrisk to _bring the light of civilisation to those Nords_!"

"And you believed it. Poor dear…you should know that the colony exists for profit. I sent Lucilla to the Castle to get the Mantle, she wrote me letters in which she said what she was doing. The last one arrived last week. Read it."

The boss took one of the sheets on the desk.

_Boss,  
__I reached Thrisk and I'm resting. The Castle is not so far now. If I travel quickly I can get there in two days._

_Lucilla_

"So she lied to me!" said Lidya shocked by her friend betrayal.

"Well, it's a true lie, so we can say that is the truth. Read this one."

It's done!

_I'm in Castle Karstaag! I said to Varus servant, Ensal (that was his name), that I was a poor, lost and frozen lady looking for a shelter. He let me enter.  
__I met Varus, he's a cold person that never smiles, he never says more than five words.  
__Bad news: he never takes the Mantle off, but I'm thinking something…_

_Lucilla_

"So she's sill there?" asked Lidya.

"I think so. When will you leave for this little errand?"

She looked at him angrily but she had to answer "I have to collect my things and my sword first…I'm leaving in an hour".

**_End of Chapter 1_**


	2. Icy Trip

_**Chapter 2**_

"_**Icy Trip"**_

Cold. Cold. Cold.

This was Lidya's only thought. She was walking near a frozen river that split the woods in two parts. All the trees were covered by the snow: very beautiful to see…very difficult to stand.

"There should have been grass here…" she said walking in the snow and going towards the river.

She was dressed with simple clothes under a steel armor…not truly useful against cold. She was holding her sword in her hand, she knew that there were strange creatures in the woods, but she knew that there were also smugglers along the rivers…and she also knew that the strange creatures wandered near rivers to drink. Marvellous.

It was quite late and the sun was beginning to set. Castle Karstaag was further in the north.

She sat on a rock near the water and took out a map from her travelling purse. The purse contained some scrolls and potions in case of emergency.

"So…I'm here…the castle is there…" she was saying when she noticed a shadow running behind a tree nearby.

"What…?"

Suddenly a brown wolf jumped from the trees scattering the snow everywhere. She was pushed to the ground and the sword fell away. She cast a fire spell that made the animal draw back. The wolf snarled and prepared to attack again. Lidya ran to get the sword.

The wolf jumped to bite when she got the weapon. She turned back cutting the air…and also cutting the wolf's body. The beast growled and fled away loosing drops of blood.

Lidya took her things and walked away.

She knew that she had to go east when she saw a lake…but the lake didn't show. Instead she saw a group of three men talking near a fire. One of them was a woman. They were wearing a mix of different armors. The one who seemed the boss was a bald Imperial.

"They look gentle…" she thought waving her hand and shouting "Excuse me, could you help me? I'm lost and…"

The three rose up looking at her.

"I've been walking for hours and I come from Raven Rock, it's good to see other people in the wild!" she said with naivety.

One of them, an elf carrying a pelt shield and a brown helmet drew an iron sword and ran towards her yelling strange words like _You're going to end your life _or something like that…

"Oh no! Smugglers!" she said preparing to face them.

The elf reached her and hit her with the rusty sword while the other two took out their respective weapons: a spear (the Imperial) and a dagger (the woman).

Lidya stroke back and began a duel with the elf. After all she was one of the best warriors of Raven Rock. Probably at first glance the elf hadn't thought that the redhead woman could cause problems and now he wasn't sure of having done the good choice.

"Take that!" she shouted hitting the elf who fell to the ground, he was bleeding, but he wasn't dead yet.

She saw the his companions coming closer and she looked in her purse for something that could damage three people in one shot. She found a scroll of _Something Hellfire_.

"Only in case of emergency…well, this is an emergency!"

She took out the scroll and read the words on it: an enormous ball of fire exploded investing the smugglers. The elf probably died and the woman fell to the ground.

"Now they'll be angrier with me…"

She decided to run in the woods pursued by the Imperial. Because of his spear it was difficult to slide between the tree and the branches but he was still chasing her.

She ran in the snow, stumbling in the rocks and stomping the plants.

"Fight back! Coward!" shouted the Imperial.

"Not now! Perhaps tomorrow!"

She arrived in a clearing. Everything was silent, there were only the soft sound of her boots in the snow.

"Ok, I'll fight!"

She reached the end of the clearing and waited for the Imperial. He arrived some seconds later pushing away the branches.

"Finally, dear. I won't hurt you…" he said.

"Really?"

"Really…I'm going to kill you!" and he said this casting a poison spell from his hands, where something sparkled.

"He has a magic ring!" she thought. The clearing was large enough to avoid the spell, but he cast another one and a green, bitter, painful and sour sensation pervaded her.

"Ah-ah! You're in trouble now!" he uttered coming closer.

"You too." she said smiling.

"What?"

He saw the scroll too late and a flash of electrical waves ended his life.

The poison disappeared and Lidya arranged her hair.

"I should thank the trader of Raven Rock when I'll come back…"


End file.
